Tolkien (J.R.R.) The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, first edition, first impression, frontispiece, one plate and 8 illustrations, including 7 full-page, map endpapers printed in red and black, all by the author, 2pp. advertisements, occasional scattered spotting, original pictorial cloth, slight shelf-lean, very minor bumping to corners, else fine, first state dust-jacket with the misprint "Dodgeson" for "Dodgson" corrected by hand on rear flap, light spotting and horizontal mark to spine, light toning to extreme head and foot of flaps, light scuffing and creasing to corners, some very minor surface soiling, but a sharp, near-fine example overall, 8vo, 1937.

Tolkien (J.R.R.).- Bloomfield (Mark) and Leonard Newmark.A LingIntroductionduction to the History of English, first edition, J.R.R. Tolkien's copy with his ownership inscription in pencil dated 4/64 to endpaper, bookplate of Desmond Morris, original boards, dust-jacket, spine faded, torn with loss to foot of upper panel, spine chipped at head, New York, 1963.

J.R.R. Tolkien's copy of a book on the history of the English language, a subject of deep academic interest to the author that heavily influenced his Middle Earth novels.

Provenance: When Tolkien died in 1973 Desmond Morris was surprised to discover that his collection of books had been sent to Thornton's bookshop in Broad Street, Oxford, for sale. He was shown them arranged on the floor in a back room at Thorntons and, although Tolkien's specialist subjects were outside Morris's range of interests, he noticed that Tolkien had written his name in pencil in each of the volumes and he decided to acquire one as a memento of the great author.

Lot 209 Tolkien (J.R.R.).- Printed programme for the New College School production of The Hobbit, adapted by Humphrey Carpenter, signed by Tolkien on upper cover, 1967.

Tolkien (J.R.R.).- Printed programme for the New College School, Oxford, production of The Hobbit, adapted by Humphrey Carpenter with music by Paul Drayton, 4pp., illustrations, with map by Drayton to final p., signed by Tolkien on upper cover, minor creasing, some light toning to margins of upper cover, [Hammond pp.23-24], 4to, 1967.

A rare signed playbill for the second theatrical adaptation of The Hobbit.

The first production of The Hobbit was performed at St. Margaret's School, Edinburgh for teachers and parents in 1953. This second production was a larger affair, performed over three nights, with the author in attendance on the final night. The play was adapted by Humphrey Carpenter and music composed by the school music teacher Paul Drayton (who also drew the map for the lower cover). Signed copies of the book were raffled off each night, Tolkien also signed copies of the programme for the performers.

Yeah, hindsight is a great thing:) I started collecting on the peak of the LOTR hype cycle -sigh. My grandfather and father got much better deals than me for sure. Somebody has to be black sheep in the family I guess. On a more serious note, I am buying more and more for research purposes and less and less for collecting just per se. I am trying to learn ME languages now.

I would really appreciate if anyone here could confirm that this item was indeed a Tolkien's own copy or has any additional info about it: Lot 208 Tolkien (J.R.R.).- Bloomfield (Mark) and Leonard Newmark. A Linguistic Introduction to the History of English, J.R.R. Tolkien's copy , New York, 1963.